Novel insight into tricephalic white leghorn strain of Gallus gallus chicken embryo

Abstract

Introduction: Polycephaly or multiple cephalic animals is one of the uncommon abnormalities; the condition of having more than one head with a shared body which needs to be fully considered. Materials and methods: Among 3000 fertilized eggs used to examine the gonadal primordial germ cells (gPGCs) at stage 28 (6-day-old) of White Leghorn strain of Gallus gallus chicken embryo. Results: Tricephalia and other malformations were found and the condition of the heads (including three nervous systems), the heart and other parts of the body were fully described. Each lateral head had its own complete eyes; two hearts were not completely separated from each other and the rest of the bodies were externally unique. The central head (between two heads) not completely formed the eyes and brain. Conclusion: The findings showed various anatomical variations in chicken embryos which should be consider in poultry farms to share their data on a bigger scale.